NHL Trade and Free Agent Rumors – June 7, 2012.

Updates on the Flyers and Canucks, the latest on the Panthers, Mike Knuble and Gregory Campbell, and the Red Wings could target UFAs via trades.

CSNPHILLY.COM: Tim Panaccio reports Jaromir Jagr’s agent confirmed his client wants to return to the Flyers next season, and the two sides are working toward a one-year contract extension. Jagr is eligible for UFA status on July 1. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren confirmed he’s interested in re-signing Jagr. John Boruk, meanwhile, fully expects Holmgren to reach out to the Nashville Predators regarding UFA blueliner Ryan Suter or RFA defenseman Shea Weber, but also mused if it might be worthwhile to acquire winger Alexander Radulov, whom the club intends to shop in the coming weeks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: If the Flyers re-sign Jagr, that probably nullifies the need to pursue Radulov, especially if they’re also interested either Suter or Weber.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: James Mirtle mused over the possibility Canucks goalie Cory Schneider could receive an offer sheet.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: If the Panthers are indeed interested in Luongo, it could mean they’ll shop Jose Theodore, who still has a year remaining on his contract, and could cast the long-term future of promising Jacob Markstrom into question. No word out of the Miami media regarding the Panthers supposed interest in Luongo, but LeBrun is among the few respectable and reliable insiders, so I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss his report. As for Schneider, it’s possible he could get an offer sheet, but unlikely, especially if the Canucks can move Luongo before the end of June. I have more on the possibility of offer sheets this summer on THN.com.

SUN-SENTINEL.COM: Harvey Fialkov reports Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon has sent contract offers to RFA forward Kris Versteeg and UFA goalie Scott Clemmensen, and is close to making offers to UFA blueliner Jason Garrison and UFA forward Mikael Samuelsson. Fialkov reports the offer for Clemmensen confirms the Panthers intend to keep Markstrom in the AHL for one more season.

WASHINGTON POST: Winger Mike Knuble won’t be re-signing with the Capitals, has no intention of retiring, and will test this summer UFA market.

CSNNE.COM: Joe Haggerty recently reports there was no progress in contract talks between the Boston Bruins and UFA forward Gregory Campbell.

34 Comments

puckhead
on June 7, 2012 at 1:03 pm

As a hardcore Flyers fan, I really don’t know what to think about Jagr. Yes he did put up some good numbers and yes he was a huge benefit to the players, especially the young players who the Flyers will heavily rely on in the future. His presence in the locker room alone was a good thing. However, at 40 years old you have to ask if he can keep it going or should the Flyers use the money that they would spend on him and spend it elsewhere. Over the course of the season, Jagr was in and out of the lineup, some say his injuries were caused by the fast paced NHL game and his age doesn’t help with that. In the playoffs his role diminished big time and he wasn’t happy about it. I like Jagr, but I don’t the fact that the only time he really plays hard is when he’s on the top line with Giroux. It seems that if he doesn’t get top line minutes, he’s not happy. At the same time I have to wonder about the Radulov rumour. He is still in his mid 20’s and has the potential to be a big name player and with his recent return to the NHL, you can’t expect to get big money. I would be willing to bet that you could get Radulov for the same money that you could get Jagr for. I know, it’s a risk. Radulov might bolt back to the KHL but if you could convince him to stick around and get him under contract for a fairly reasonable price…it could pay huge dividends for a team. You get experience and a professional with one player and on the other hand you get potential and an age break with the other.

Vinnie
on June 7, 2012 at 1:24 pm

IF Florida is interested in bringing back Luongo I would think Theodore going the other way wouldn’t be a bad idea Schneider will need a capable back-up and his first season as the starter could be a bumpy ride. Now of course Vancouver would be looking for MUCH MORE than just Theodore. I am not the biggest Luongo supporter but even I recognize that.

BigBoss
on June 7, 2012 at 3:41 pm

Florida doesnt really want Luongo back. They have Markstrom in the system who is going to be their goalie of the future. They need a band-aid solution like theadore is right now.

AceNewton
on June 7, 2012 at 8:02 pm

Bergenheim would be nice but unlikely, maybe if they throw in Raymond – he would be well suited for their fast game.
Sign and trade re: Clemmensson as part of the return for Luongo? then bring up Markstrome to share the net with Theodore.
Florida and Van. are familiar trade partners.

AceNewton
on June 7, 2012 at 8:15 pm

oops, what I said doesn’t make sense. ahhh, what I meant to add was: then send Theodore to Tampa Bay where it won’t affect his family life too much. Tidied that up nicely.

Flyers don’t need Radulov, they’ve got plenty of very capable young forwards, and he’s a head-case, let him go back to the KHL. I was unsure of the Jagr signing last summer, but I’ll be the first to admit that his influence on and off the ice was paramount to the young Flyers. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, if anything, when Holmgren reaches out to Poile regarding his top 2 dmen. They have a long history of dealing with one another.

NYRfan84
on June 7, 2012 at 2:10 pm

spector, in reference to your THN article. the Sharks failed to get Hjalmarsson, but it ultimately cost the Blackhawks Antti Niemi

Doug Shields
on June 7, 2012 at 2:12 pm

Jose Theodore has a no-trade clause in his contract, he`s not going anywhere.

Peterman
on June 7, 2012 at 3:35 pm

You don’t think he’d want to go to Vancouver? He might have to be a backup, but he’ll play his fair share, VAN is a CUP contender, and he could probably get an extension – which might not happen in FLA

Doug Shields
on June 7, 2012 at 4:31 pm

I don`t THINK so. His family & ties are in S. Florida, that`s where he wants to call home too. Who knows. With another scorer or two, why can`t the Panthers compete. They took NJ to 7 games, double OT at that. If he plays as well as he did last year, it would`nt surprise me to see them sign him again to be a mentor for Marstrom. They just offered Clemmensen a contract. One more year for marstrom in the AHL. The whole Luongo thing does`nt make sense, it would stunt Markstorm`s progress.

Liddy5
on June 7, 2012 at 5:20 pm

Markstrom is still far from a sure thing and will need a couple seasons before he’s ready to be relied on as a full-time starter. Depending on what Florida would have to trade, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to see them acquire Luongo and then trade Markstrom to get back some of what they lost.

Doug Shields
on June 7, 2012 at 5:38 pm

Maybe, I`m just saying I don`t think Jose Theodore will waive his no-trade clause to leave sunny Florida to be a back-up with a CHANCE to win.

NYRfan84
on June 7, 2012 at 2:13 pm

cont.

i would think that was a successful offer sheet

Martin Klatt
on June 7, 2012 at 2:36 pm

Good Morning Mr. Spector,

The Leafs should target Knuble for some veteran leadership. Parise would look very good in a Leafs’ uniform, but he’ll cost way too much (I figure 5 million or more)!

Miokid
on June 7, 2012 at 2:39 pm

Parise will be 6+, and will not be coming to Toronto. He wants to go to a winner, Toronto’s… not a winner.

He’ll resign in Jersey.

Eddie is the greatest
on June 7, 2012 at 3:28 pm

I don’t think he’ll resign in NJ. I think this is an all or nothing year for NJ. I don’t think they’ll be repeating this run next year.

Landon
on June 8, 2012 at 1:29 am

Correct you are

Canadian King
on June 7, 2012 at 3:38 pm

He won’t be taking less than $6.5 cap hit, and WON’T be going anywhere near the Leafs.

Liddy5
on June 7, 2012 at 5:18 pm

Agreed, although with the cap going up to 70-74 million, I’m thinking Parise’s cap hit will be closer to 8 million.

Molson09
on June 7, 2012 at 3:59 pm

Yes, you can’t pay Parise more than Grabovski’s $5.5 million.LOL!

I think BB is (or used to be) a good GM, but that roster has way too wasted cash. A third of that team is grossly overpaid. Parise is the type of player you might over pay, not Grabo, Connely, Komi, etc, etc,.

It took Sather quite a while to figure out how to be a successful GM, for a team without cash restrictions.

Miokid
on June 7, 2012 at 5:15 pm

I think BB is overrated as all hell. To be honest. A mediocre GM at best, his Cup win isn’t of his doing… he literally goes out and signs a guy who ONLY wants to play his ducks at that time (it’s not like there was a bidding war, it was simple “I want to play with my brother”).

Molson09
on June 7, 2012 at 6:03 pm

In all fairness, he laid a pretty solid foundation in Vancouver, and won in Anaheim.

He’s done very little for the Leafs though. If he could have been patient with the development of the players and impatient with his coach, they’d be lightyears ahead of their current spot. The young players that others have drafted and he’s aquired, have good upside though (Ashton, Gardiner, Coleborne).

To further your point, they haven’t drafted high end all that well either. Kadri has bust written all over him. With all of the scouting that money can buy, and 22 Assistant GMs and front office types, they should be better.

The Man__Oss
on June 7, 2012 at 11:10 pm

@Molson09

Now hold on, Faith in his coach??? He gave him enough rope to hang himself. The team crashed, they gave up on their coach.

You fans were chasing him out of the building. I believe the chant was “Fire Wilson” and the team responded with an uninspired loss 5-4 after leading early. The team gave up on him. Let’s all get it straight.

Did the team recover afterwards??? NO!!

Burke has built the farm system up very well. So he did do something right.

It does make it tougher to rebuild a team that has virtually no assets to start with.

Now I’m not a fan of his, but we have to be realistic too. The Leafs had nothing to start with and they still have most of it left.

Martin Klatt
on June 7, 2012 at 3:16 pm

I forgot to add, the Leafs should target Alexander Radulov, he wants to be the centre of attention (he might as well be playing for the Beaconia Shammrocks while in Nashville), only in Toronto will he be scrutinized enough to feed his ego.

Pat Quinn provided some intersting teams, I believe it was the 1998-99 season when it was offense, offense, offense. Who cares about defense? I’d rather see the Leafs win 13 to 10, rather than lose 1 to 0. Get a goallie who plays like Palmateer, provide some excitement like Gilmour did…score and stop. That’s all the Leafs need. Oh and a Domi bully to keep everyone honest.

Steve
on June 7, 2012 at 3:22 pm

Yesterday I made a comment that I thuoght the Devils were “out of gas” – as we saw last night, the insertion of Tallinder and Sykora gave them some legs. I think Philly is going to focus on signing a d-man and may have some interest in pursuing Nash. I’m not sure they will resign Jagr, but Radulov might be a bargain for them.

Geoff
on June 7, 2012 at 4:39 pm

When the hell is markstrom going to get a shot at the NHL, this guy is good and he’s been around for a while.

Mats
on June 7, 2012 at 4:57 pm

I like Jagr and I agree on the fact that he has been a great influence on the “kids”, but Flyers have different needs. Unless he signs for under 2M$ it’s not worth it IMHO. Flyers still need to resign Jake V and i figure at least one top d-man but probably two. Lilja cant be trusted and Pronger will probably not return, so with Carle gone (my guess unless he signs cheap) there isnt much money to be spent on good old Jags. They might gamble on full time service from Gus and MAB but that feels a bit shaky. Also i think they need to go after a Veteran Goalie to have some insurance if Bryz’s brain goes down again.

Ntg74
on June 8, 2012 at 12:22 am

Mike knuble would be a great pick up for the Edmonton oilers and the young core.

Bruce
on June 8, 2012 at 12:51 am

I can’t see the Flyers giving up an asset or more for Radulov. They seem content to bring back Jagr and Vorcek on the right wings. They will be cheaper than Radulov. The Zherdev experiment didn’t go to well so why would they lose assets to take a bigger risk on Radulov knowing he might go KHL on them?

The best fit I see for Radulov is in Detroit. He would likely play with Datsyuk and have success in their system. That would be enough to make him forget about the KHL. They have the cap room to work with him on a contract and he would be cheaper than going after Parise as far as dollar amount.

I thought Knubble would have gone to the Sharks or Bruins at the deadline. He would have been a good fit with either going into the playoffs. Maybe a team has an empty roster spot and decides to sign him to be a mentor and bring back a pick at the trade deadline.

Landon
on June 8, 2012 at 1:51 am

Knuble should find a home somewhere, sounds like a good fit for any young team who needs a mentor who wants to get better, IE Oilers or Leafs

JJB
on June 8, 2012 at 4:12 am

I’ve always felt Luongo to Florida made the most sense, there are a lot of ties there and I do like that the possible signing of Clems keeps Markstrom one more full time year in the AHL. I think that if you can get Luongo at a decent price with or without Theo. If he won’t go then you simply move him to Tampa for a decent price and run this year with Luongo/Clems in net.

Then you have two-three years following that of Luongo and Markstrom playing together and by that time Luongo is 36-38 years old and should have less and issue backing up Markstrom before retiring. I think Theo, 1st, mid ranged depth player or maybe a 2nd instead of Theo.

Murph
on June 8, 2012 at 4:20 am

For all those dumping on Burke…

He is building from the draft out and is building a good base on the farm

I do not think he ever wanted Kadri – he wanted to trade up for Tavares, but could not get it done because he had nothing else to bargain with

He always overhypes the assets he has, because it keeps their trade value higher than it should be.Thats how he gets players like Gardiner. But they need a lot more.

Kessel – Whether you like it or not, it is what it is

Some trades have been poor, some good, some outstanding

Does everyone forget how long Glen Sather has had to tinker with the Rangers to get to the semi-finals?

12 years. Yes, 12 years folks.

And while I think the playoffs should have been attained by the Leafs by now, I have no doubt they will this coming season. People forget what he inherited (diddly), and while he did not call it a rebuild, he is finding himself pretty much doing that because the entire roster has almost changed since he first arrived.

When Burke arrived in Anaheim, here are some of the players that were already on the roster, which likely took a few years to assemble:

I hope he gets a chance to prove his detractors wrong, before Leaf fans run a Stanley Cup winning GM (and Coach )out of town in a rush to hire someone like Garth Snow or Scott Howson.

Bruce
on June 8, 2012 at 5:54 pm

While I admire the passion of the Toronto fans…
Are you willing to give Burke what, 12 years or so to build this team into a winner? He put himself in a big pickle taking that job. Granted he had and still has squat to work with. I think the guy wanted a new challenge being he achieved all he could in Anaheim. Well I think it is a little more than he bargained for. The team is like a car stuck in mud. Spinning it’s wheels and going nowhere. A bit of a shame. I find the faith Leafs fans have in Burke a little weird. Don’t you feel you deserve more than mediocre?

Still I admire the passion of Leafs fans. I don’t see any other fans traveling hours upon hours by the busload to road games. Good luck with Burke. I hope he turns it around for you.

Murph
on June 9, 2012 at 3:55 am

Thanks Bruce,

No, I don’t think he deserves (or needs ) 12 years. I am just pointing out that people need to make fair comparisons. Usually, Burke’s ego gets him in trouble. If he spoke less and did more, most people would be more patient. But that’s the way he is, and I do not see him changing, which is why he is either hated, or loved.

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